Method of assembling shoe uppers and soles.



No, 861,180. PATENTED 1111.121190?. w. 11.1100PE11.

v -BMBHODl OF ASSEMBLING SHOEv UPP'ERS AND SOLES.

' PPLIUATIQN FILED rms. 1a. 19o?.

, wqm/aapevr 110.861,18). ,l PATLNTLD JULY 23, 1907.

w. 11. HooPLR.

MBTHGD 0F ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPERS AND SOLES.

' APPLICATION PILLD 1133.13. 1907.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

@wang/wafer @Mffwwm UNITED STATES PATENT-OFFICE WILLIAM H. iIooPER, or LYNN, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR To MANUFACTURERS MACHINE COMPANY, 0F MONTCLAIR NEW JERSEY, A NEW JERSEY CORPORATION.

METHOD 0F ASSEMBLING SHOE UPPERS AND SOLES.

t spcification of Letters Patent.4

Patented July 23, 1907.

original appuaatiaa naa January 1G, 19.06, serial Na. 296,322.4 -Divided aaa this application nea February 1s, 1907. f saaiai Nq. 357,173.

To all whom 'it may concern.'

Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. HooPER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Lynn, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have' invented an Improvement in Methods of Assembling Shoe Uppers and Soles, of whichthe following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a specification, like letters on the drawings representing like parts.

to that stage ofthe bottoming operation at which sole leather is initially assembled with an upper.

Inorder that the purpose of the invention may be clearly appreciated, it is expedient to explain, by way of illustration, certain methods which have been employed heretofore in lassembling sole leather with up-r for the finished shoe; or else in the form of a block' sole which is simply a piece of sole leather not delinitely shaped but merely cut to a size convenient to be handled. .The shape of a block sole may in some cases approximate, more or less nearly, the shape which the finished sole is desired to have; but it is characterized by the fact thatvit presents at its edge considerable superfluous material which must be removed in order .to produce the final desired sole shape. A sole blank died-out or otherwise formed may need to be trimmed somewhat after it is attached to the shoe but such trimming has no reference to the removal of surplus material and is intended generally to smooth up-the sole edge and to erase such scars or 'the .like as may have been received. Thus the trimming-of a sole blank partakes of the character of a finishing operation that is to say an operation directed to the improvement oi the appearance of a shoe; while the cutting away of superfluous stock of a block sole is a shaping operation which is commonly called rough rounding.

Whatever the form in which the sole leather is presented to the upper-whether it be a block sole or a sole blank-it is important that the operator adjust the `sale` leather properly with relation tothe upper. This is usually done by 'placing'the sole leather on the bottom of an inverted last bearing the upper; shifting the sole leather laterally and longitudinally on the last un- -til it reaches its desired relation to the last and upper; and thereupon fastening the sole leather in adjusted position, as' by means of tacks driven through the sole This invention isa contribution to the art 'of loottoming boots or shoes, and relates more particularly-- into the last. In placing the sole leather on the bottom of the inverted last the upper is nearly if not quite hidden from the sight of the operator who must therefore effect his adjustment blindly and by his sense of touch alone, or if the sole leather be placed. upon the lasted upper while in upright position a like dilliculty is experienced. Frequently he is required to feel entirely around -the last to insure thatthe sole leather shall extend sufficiently on all sides. In general, thisI is equally true Whether he is employing a block sole or asole blank. However, the fact that a block sole has a greater area than is intended for the nished sole permits the .block sole to be assembled withA the upper by a more or less crude and approximate adjustment since slight mistakes maylbe corrected in the rough round ing; but a sole blank; already having substantially its final shape, must be adjustedon the'upper with ex# treme care and accuracy since,.once adjusted, thesole blank is permanently secured to the upper, and if the adjustment .be faulty the fault practically incurable from a single die or a single pattern, and consequently they preserve thoughoutla succession' of shoes a definite uniform style; whereas block soles are shaped, i by the rough rounding operation, each with reference to the contour of its particular upper, and these contours (because of defects in lasting, variations in thickness of upper leather and the like) may exhibit various undulations all of which affect the rough rounded outline of the sole with the result that even in a single pair of shoes the soles may be of different shapes. While such differences in shape may not be very great they are none the less important, especially in shoes of high grade. Moreover certain operations following the attachment of the sole leather, such as; channeling for the outsole stitching, are sometimes desired to be gaged from the Sole edge; and any imperfections in said. edge', such' as may result from rough rounding, will be communicated' to the'- channel and consequently to the outseam so that the latter, often aconspicuous element of the shoe, appears in a wavering orotherwise imperfect line and therefore detracts from theappean ance of the shoe.

Notthe least advantage arising from the use of sole operator as blanks, residesin the elimination of the sole rounding' It is' n n important Object of this, invention in inciti-` tate the adjustment of 'sole leather to uppers to the end l0 'that block soles and sole blanks may be adjusted with "equ'al'rapidit'y :ind-Withdesired accuracy by a compare,-

tively unskilled operator. It follows then that the practice 'oftliis invent-ion',`if s'o desired, admits o'f thev use of sole blanks exclusively with all the' attendant advantages whileat the same time preserving the facility ofadjustnient which 'heretofore has recommended..

' vthe use ot' block soles,

Certain `features of the invention will be described herein, for purposes of illustration, as practiced in part by n machine disclosed in a copending application senil Nn esozagiiies Jnnnn'iy 16, i906, of which vthis yisa division; but nothing'herein contained ist@ be construed .as limiting the scope oithis invention to use `iii' connection with said machine. Also n ietliod Vembodying thel invention will bede# scribed'he'rein as employed in assembling a sole blank iviilfa'lastedand'ivelted upper mounted on a last. 'Obvioit lioii'eye, the scope of the invention is notI m to he l'iniited'totiie exact 'charac'teristicsof the specific fiir'nioi sole leather and ii'pperdescribed. f the accompnnying drawings, Figure 1,- is a' diagrain iatiebo'ttom plan vieni voipart of afnfelted 'upper shot'ving the welt marked in a manner convenient for the practice of'aginjclliod eii'ibodying tliis` in'\ention,

Fig. 2. is n ide elevation of a machinel capable oi markand d a're respectively .u pla'n view and a iront 'elevaverse section oi oform' of markingr toolon'the line 5-5 of Fig. 2., A' The iv'clt n shown in Fig. l'is of greater Width than it f lesire'd'to' have on the linished shoe, it being prefer- 'a'hlcto t'riiii' tlo\ \'n u welt which is too (vide. rather thun' to run the risk of having it so norton' as not to register with thecdgc of thc iii'iishedjsolc This use of wide lu 'clts is an expedient veryY gencrallyadopted and con;

. sequently the'fujclt kedge should notybe used bythe guide'inadjusting the sole leather, since 'thereby n sole inight he ,improperly positioned.' Moreover i'inpcrieetiinis in ius'entn sewing. or improper variaztions innan insole channel might:distortan'elt edge from' it ntended outline, In' pm ctice'tlierefore. a Welt ui iveifcd' 'referenti-et the uppc a by AIneas n vwelt ,in the manner"illustrated in ,1: '-lligs. 3

e g'ngelior adjusting sole leather 'to a the fact that the style oi a shoe, its distinctive appearance,l depends largely upon the relations existing be'- tween general contour of the -upper and sole; that is to say, oneoftlie most conspicuous elements in the appearance of a shoe when Worn, is the greater or less ex-4 tent to which the soleproje'cts beyond .theoutline of the upper. Hence, by marking a' Weltiwi'tlireference to an upper and at a predetermined distance therefromfand adjusting asol'eto th'eiipp'e'r 'with relation to said mark, a distinctive styfe can thereby be determined for the shoe. By varying the distance of the .merkfrom' the upper diierent styles o f shoesxngy be determined.

InV 'making sorne styles'o'f'shoes it is desirable that certain parts of a sole extend a gieater distanceA beyond the upper than othersfor example the toe 'of the sole may extend a greater distance thitn'the 'lateral instepportions, 'or vice V'ersa'. n such' cases" this invention may be practiced conveniently b y locating a1 mark on the welt at oned'ist-anc'e troni the tov of the upper and another niark at adiff'ere'ntdistance from'the instep pnninn ofthe upper;ind'ndjnsiingnieni.blank by reterenceto said marks respectiyel'y.,

The vmarks may beof'any'practicable'character to 'rectangular notch inthe edge'ot tlie \\el t,.the'inne r side -of the notch constituting 'the desired demarcation to' which' the sole ad justnie'nt is referred, iinotch'" of this shape is especially convenientin' thatit permits the operator to place some positioning el'e'ine'nn such-as his finger o r a'tool'. in the notch x'yitlia 'a'ce yo;the'positioning clement abutting against 'the incr yedge of the notch; andthen toadj ust the solebycnusing'it to abut against' the positioning eleinentin such manner' that 'the sole edge will register exactly, or as 'nearly as may be,d'esi red, with the niark. Thus, for `exemple'. an operzitor might pince the sole blank' upon the welt shown Vin Fig.A l. placi'eccrtain of his fingers in thenotches and then 'shift thesole unt-i1 its too cnfd touches the linger' at the toe notch and theiorepar't edge touches his'iingers' :it 'the lateral notches. It is of course, 'a`conipara'tively simple matter to efi'cct by touchnlone an adjustment o' two parts iyhich'are desired c'tly'to registerand the operator by feeling the notch .e dges and sole "an t'ell` ivhcther'or not they :register c o'n uct his adjust-nient accordingly, The specific rangernent illustrated in'Fig. l .'howe \"er, suppliesv the iid'ditional advantage O f. berlittng, thfe Qristoi 'te fblf the. adj\`1stirien t.since' ,the sole edge is' intend'edregister .with but no? A to' i.c'a n a sole-.iinto'registry'with thefm'ark b by sight alone'i'inaided by his senseoftou'ch."

'The machine of 'the aforesaid cti-pending application, which isnlso'shown in the present dressings, is capable :of makin'gsuch'marks s are shown in Fig. 1, that is to b is supplied in` the specific il'lustrnti'on'y cuttinga suit their intended purpose. .It is preferable, hosvand one or loo 'los

yextend beyon'tL'tlie 'marks bblV It Ais f inwinnen' with this'nnangementjihatnienpew 125- tangular notches in the edges of a welt or the like.

In using thennachine the'bulge of the upper over the last adjacent the welt is Yplaced against an edge gage c (in the manner indicated by dotted lines in Fig. 2) with the welt overlying a marking bed d. Thereupon .a vertically movablemarking tool in this instance a knife c-isdepressed against the marking bed d to p mark the Welt. Preferably the marking tool e is fixed against lateral movement; and in ordergthat it shall mark a weltlat different distances from the contour of the upper the edge gage c is made horizontally adjustable so as to vary the horizontal distances betweenthe marking position of the tool andthe location of the upper as determined by the edge gage. The edge gage c comprises a plate which is movable horizontally' on the table foi the machine; and it is so moved by means of an edge gage adjusting lever g pivoted to the bed f at h and connected to the gage plate cthrough the rod 'i secured to said plate and' carrying at its end collars 7 which engage between them the bifurcated end of the edge gageadjusting lever g. Also connected to the gage plate c, by means of a pin and slot connection shown in Fig. 3, is an indicator lever j pivoted to the machine bed at k and having its outer extremity in the form of a pointer to cooperate with an indicator scale 'l which may be graduated according` to any desired system of styles o r sizes. Tofacilitate the adjustment of the edge gage c adjustable stops mn are'provided by which the indicator lever j will bearrested when the adjusting lever is moved. These stopsmay conveniently have the form oi removable pegs; and a series of peg holes o may be provided for different adjustments of one of the stops; while a slot p may be provided for the adjustment of the other peg which may conveniently be provided with` a clamp-nut to hold it in position in the slot 1i. The specific peg`11. may'serve Ato hold the indicator lever in contact with, the other stop m; or if preferred, lthe two stops may be spaced apart so that only one of them at a time willl engage the indicator lever j, whereby the operator may be permitted b-y moving the adjusting lever g to shift the edge gage in and=out between the limits determined by the two pegs 1n. and n.

For the purpose of making the rectangular notch in the welt as shown in Fig. 1, the marking tool e has substantially the cross section shown in Fig. 5. The marking tool e carried at the lower extremity of a plunger q normally upheld bya spring r. The tool e is depressed tomark against the marking bed d by means of a lever s and treadle t.

In addition to theedge gage c it is considered expedient to employ another gage u against which thel bottom of the last, or the insole, if there be one, or some y other part, may be held to assist inA determining` the horizontal relation of the upper to the marking tool.

Occasion has arisen in the foregoing discussion to use the words upper and Welt to indicate .distinct parts of the shoe, but as a matter of fact, the welt is for lthe purpose of the bottoming operation substan-l tially sin-integral part of the upper. Accordingly in the sub-joined claims, where the context permits, the Words upper portion of a shoe may be understood if necessary, to include a welt or any equivalent thereof, such for example, as the out turned edge of an upper fora stitch-down shoe.

This invention suppliesa highly meritorious contribution to the art to which it pertains and it is thought to be a pioneer inventioxnyin that, as to certain features, it contemplates that sole leather and an upper shall be assembled and .adjusted with reference to a definitely placed demarcation on one or the other of them. s ,y I

1. A method of assembling soie leather and an upperportion of a shoe which consists in notching one of them. placing a positioning element in the notch, and adjusthn.y them by reference to said positioning element.

2. The method of assembling a sole portion und an upper portion of a slice, which consists in notchin'p,r one o1' them at the toe and at the side, and then adjusting the other relatively thereto with reference to thesnid notches. 3. The method of laying outsoles on welted boots and shoes which `consists in marking the welt at its under side in denlte position relative to the locution of the upper. and laying the sole i'osald marks at the under side to dene tfiepostionof the sole predetermlnately with reintion to the upper when ihe'welt is trimmed away. l

4. The method of laying outsoles on welted boots and l shoes which-consists in notching the snld welt with respect to a selected outline of the shoe. and positioning the outsole on the shoe with reference to said notch.

In testimonyA whereof, I have signed my name tolthis" specication, in the presence oi two 'subscribing witnesses.

- WILLIAM II. HOOIER.

Witnesses T. A. TmimLL. 

